June 8, 2015
BANGKOK (AFP) - Three Hong Kong women and their Thai driver were killed when a van they were travelling in swerved off a highway and smashed into a tree in central Thailand, police said Monday.
"Four people were killed, they are one Thai driver and three women from Hong Kong," Police Lieutenant Sayumpho Sittikul from Cha Am police station in Petchaburi province, told AFP.
Three more Hong Kongers, including a 4-year-old boy, were injured in the crash which took place at around 5pm on Sunday.
"They are not in a critical condition," Sayumpho said, adding that the victims were heading south to visit a relative's house in Chumphon province.
Local news pictures of the crash site close to the seaside resort town of Hua Hin showed a silver minivan upturned, its front end caved in.
The bodies of four victims were laid out on stretchers at the scene, their faces covered by white sheets.
Sayumpho said police believed the van swerved to avoid a vehicle ahead of it and careered into a sloping central reservation before striking a tree.
Thailand's roads are among the world's deadliest and accidents are common.
A recent report by the World Health Organization said Thailand saw 38.1 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2010 -- behind only the Dominican Republic and the South Pacific island of Niue.
